This research is designed to replicate, refine and extend some pilot work in which we found that alcoholics' voluntary decisions to drink or not drink during the middle four weeks of a six weeks' treatment-research program could be modified via subtle social influences. Our main objectives are to investigate the effects on drinking decisions and on post-treatment outcome of a direct vs. a subtle induction of group norms toward abstinence and of eliciting or preventing public commitments about drinking intentions. In addition, we will examine the contributions of relevant individual factors, i.e. the alcoholic's initial set to drink or abstain and his susceptibility to social pressures ("need for approval") in the influence process. Eighteen consecutive treatment groups will be randomly assigned to six treatment conditions, depending on the norm induction and commitment procedures to be employed in each case. Initial drinking set and approval motivation will be assessed prior to the experimental treatment interventions; subsequently, actual drinking behavior will be carefully monitored and recorded during the drinking decisions phase of the program, and follow-up data, describing drinking and personal/social adjustment, will be obtained six months after the patients have completed the program. The combined effects on program drinking and on outcome of our norm induction and commitment procedures, and the potential modifying influences of individual differences, will be explored via analysis-of-variance and multiple regression designs in an attempt to identify those factors contributing to abstinence or reduced drinking in a chronic, alcoholic population. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Gellens, H. K., Gottheil, E., Arayata, L. and Alterman, A. I. Blood chemistry changes in drinking alcoholics. The British Journal of Addiction, 71: 103-108, 1976. Gellens, H. K., Gottheil, E. and Alterman, A. I. Drinking outcome of specific alcoholic subgroups. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 37(7): 986-989, 1976.